A Feudal Fairytale
by Moonshadow Maeve
Summary: This is basically InuYasha, our way. There are two new characters, but all other characters come into the story. We worked really hard on this - it is worth a r ead. Please R&R.
1. Down the Well

~ A Feudal Fairytale ~

  
  
  


Nihao, all, welcome to our little ficie! We do not own InuYasha, or Ranma. *sigh* We tried to buy it from Rumiko Takahashi, but she wouldn't sell. We only own Patience Galloway and Serenity Ikari - who are *giggles* based on us. Oh, one more thing, WE ARE BOTH ADVOCATES FOR THE COUPLE OF INUYASHA AND KAGOME!!! There are no two people more suited to each other, we just got really bored and decided to do this to amuse ourselves. 

That being said, on with the story . . . 

  
  
  
  


Chapter One: Down the Well__

  


_It was the strangest dream she ever remembered having. She was standing at the base of a giant tree . . . the God Tree, she realized, except that instead of being surrounded by concrete it was in the middle of a wild, seemingly endless forest that was about as far from the Nerima district of Tokyo as possible. But in the back of her mind, she knew she had been here before . . . when or how, she didn't know, but she knew where she was - the Dark Forest. She glanced around her at the shadowed trees. Something about it sent chills up her spine; not only was it enveloped in an eerie dark purple light, but it felt as it were trying to suffocate her. It might have been pretty in the daylight, but it was definitely not a place she would want to be at night . . . like now. She couldn't help thinking the place had a mind of its own. But a moment later, as she continued to take in her surroundings, something else entirely held her attention._

_ A slender young man dressed in a loose red kimono, a rusty scabbard - and the sword looking no better - hanging at his side, was pinned to the tree with an arrow - the arrow itself, when she looked at it, seemed to glow with a soft, translucent pink light - and vines entwined themselves around his legs and bare feet. Long silver hair flowed around his face, gentle and peaceful in sleep with his dark eyelashes resting against the pale skin, and his ears were furry and pointed, more like a puppy's than a human's. _

_ He wasn't human - that didn't surprise her, and it wasn't just because of the ears. She would have known even if there hadn't been any ears. And she wasn't surprised to seen him there unconscious and bound to the God Tree. In fact, she had the strangest feeling she had seen him before . . . _

_ She stood, unable to take her eyes away from the boy's face, her heart doing some kind of wild, rhythmless dance in her chest as she stared at him. There was something so . . . so innocent and sorrowful about him. Forgetting that this was nothing but a dream, she started forward, wanting to touch him, to see if he was real or just some figment of her imagination that was too good to be true. _

_For a single moment as she stepped toward him, her foot caught on a root and she became off balance. She put out a hand to keep herself from falling_. _It met with something long and slender, but it came loose in her hand. To her, it felt as if a candle had been snuffed out; she sensed rather than saw that the pink light was gone -_

_ She fell to the ground, the arrow in her hand. She stared at it in curiosity. What had happened? _

_ But then she was suddenly distracted - she felt someone watching her. She looked up and found herself staring into a pair of wide amber eyes, so full of repressed rage they glittered like ice . . . _

  


Serenity jerked into a sitting position, her hand automatically reaching for her dog, Shin. She calmed a little when she could feel the German Shepard's coarse brown fur under her fingers. She was dripping in cold sweat, her dark hair plastered in ringlets to her forehead, but her heart had ceased pounding and slowly her breathing returned to normal. She took several deep breaths, giving her time to collect her thoughts. 

_It was just a dream, _she told herself. 

She smiled wryly at her own stupidity. _Just a dream, huh? _she thought. _Riiight. That was no dream . . . _

She was still shaking from the overwhelming presence of that strange forest and the intensity of that boy's eyes. It seemed so wrong to have those cold, unfeeling eyes peering out of such a kind face. She just didn't understand it. He had the sweetest, most serene expression on his face, at least when he slept, that made it seem as if he should be peaceful and benevolent, but when you looked into his eyes you could almost imagine him to be the kind of person who could murder someone in cold blood and think nothing of it . . . 

Serenity shuddered involuntarily at the thought, but gave a weak smile when Shin raised his head up to look at her, his warm brown eyes questioning. 

"I'm all right, boy," she whispered, and gave him a reassuring pat, then she sighed, running a hand through her damp, dark brown hair, pushing it out of her eyes.

_Just a dream, _she thought again. 

_I wish. _

She leaned back onto her pillows with another, heavier sigh, and closed her eyes, only to see those amber eyes gazing back at her in all their glinting fury. Her eyes snapped open. It appeared sleep would be a long way off. Every time she tried to close her eyes so she could get some rest, she would see those eyes again and she would be staring at her wall, once more feeling wide awake.

_I'm going to be paying for this tomorrow . . . _

  


~ * ~

  


_She was standing at the foot of a huge cliff. Nothing looked familiar. It was so bleak, so bare. She was chilled to the bone. Where was she? This place was like nothing she had ever seen._

_ Suddenly there was a flash of golden light atop the cliff. She backed up so that she could see highest, flat surface of the cliff. Why did she care? It had just been lightening, or was it?_

_ She had been walking forever. She saw herself fall from exhaustion. She looked back at the cliff._

_ That figure! That man, no he wasn't human. He was too perfectly built to be human_. _He was robed in white. The white had red stitched onto it. She knew him, but how? From where?_

_ "Patience." The sound of his voice sent a shiver up her spine. He didn't speak loud enough that she could have heard him and yet she felt he was screaming for her. There was desperation in his voice and such a lose and sorrow it physically hurt her to hear it._

_ In his face there was such pain and fear and sadness it threatened to draw her in._

_ A single tear rolled off of his cheek and fell to the ground and from that one tear a river of lose sprung up. It was so cold. Ice formed on the banks. She was swept up by the current and hurtled down stream. The icy waters were just a front and underneath was a warmth that threatened to drown her_.

_She screamed and thrashed trying to avoid the current. A pair of strong arms covered in white; a chest, strong and safe. As safe as she had felt in her father's arms, but he was dead now. Who would hold her so safely again?_

_ She saw the blue crescent moon . . . _

  


"Patience, Patience. Wake up! It's just a dream!"

Patience woke suddenly. Serenity was perched on her bed, gently shaking her, as Shin was over in the corner licking Gertie (Patience's miniature Collie) in the face in an attempt to comfort her. 

"You were screaming when I ran in and saw Gertie in the corner. Was it another nightmare? You haven't had one of your parents in almost a year," Serenity said gently.

"I'm fine." Patience was shaken. She wasn't by any measure fine. Who had that figure been? "We better get ready for school," she said, her voice calm. "It's almost six o'clock."

Serenity left, taking Shin with her. Patience was left with the thought of who was that figure? He had looked so sad, but how had he known her name? And why had he been screaming for her?

  


~ * ~

  


"Morin' Grandpa!" called Serenity cheerfully as she came into the kitchen where her grandfather was busy making breakfast and her younger brother, Kouji, was already sitting at the table waiting.

"Good morning, girl," he answered. "Did the talismans I put on your door last night keep the spirits out?"

"Uh . . . yeah, it sure did, Grandpa."

"Good, good," he muttered, flipping a pancake with a quick motion of his wrist.

She ruffled her brother's hair and perched herself on the edge of the table and began to braid her damp hair. A shower had been just what she needed to make herself forget what she was now convinced was just a dream. She felt a lot better and even though she barely got an hour of sleep she felt like she could get through school without falling asleep. Well, at least until fourth period when she had Algebra.

"Have you seen Snickers?" asked Kouji suddenly, looking up at her anxiously.

Serenity shook her head. She hadn't seen the cat since she had let Shin and Gertie outside around midnight.

"Oh . . ."

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere, though," she said quickly.

Kouji just nodded.

"So, what's for breakfast?" asked Patience tiredly as she dragged herself into the room

"Pancakes," their grandfather replied.

"Any orange juice?"

"No," said Kouji. "I took the last of it." He pointed to the glass sitting in front of him, only half-full.

"Thanks," Patience said as she snatched his glass. "Saves me time. And we're already late!" she cried, looking at the clock. Patience gulped down the rest of the juice, grabbed her bookbag and ran out the door. "Love you, Gramps!" she called over her shoulder.

"Love you too, Patience," he yelled back.

"Stupid . . . YEAH, THANKS FOR WAITING!" Serenity yelled. "C'mon, Kouji."

She grabbed her bag, giving her grandfather a quick hug as Kouji shoved some papers in his backpack, then the two ran out after Patience. It was at that moment their grandfather realized what was going on.

"Hey, children . . . what about breakfast?"

  


~ * ~

  


"Hurry up, Kouji," Patience yelled.

"But I'm looking for Snickers," he said.

"You do that, kid," Serenity told him. She glared at Patience. "Don't yell at him."

"What are we going to do about them?" Patience asked, quickly diverting Serenity's wrath.

A thoughtful look crossed Serenity's face. "Hmm . . . I've been thinking about that, but I'm not exactly sure yet . . . You know Ranma and Akane. They're both stubborn beyond belief and besides, nothin' I can think of would work unless I got rid of Shampoo . . . Ukyou . . . Kodachi . . . Ryouga . . . that . . . that one freaky dude . . ."

She continued to count her obstacles off on her fingers. They seemed endless.

"What!?! Whatever. Anyway, more importantly, how can we get Kuno obsessed with Nabiki? I know Nabiki likes him. She won't admit it, but all the signs are there. Now neither of them have anything planned Saturday . . . Kouji! We have to get to school! The cat wouldn't be in the well shrine! You idiot!" Patience pushed Serenity towards the door to the shrine. "You go after him. He's _your_ brother."

"Yeah - and I'm proud of it . . ." Serenity grinned. "However, _you_ are going first."

She slipped away from Patience, got behind her, and pushed her through the door.

"I said DON'T YELL AT MY LITTLE BROTHER!"

The place was dark and as soon as Serenity walked into the well house it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dropped on her. She shivered. She didn't like being in here . . . 

_This feels too familiar, _Patience thought. 

"SNICKERS! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Serenity yelled from behind Patience, hoping her voice didn't tremble. She didn't want to be in here anymore. This place scared her . . . Where was that stupid cat!?

"THANKS!" Patience turned around yelled at Serenity. "We are going to miss first period - and we've already miss Akane's fight with Kuno. If it wasn't for your stupid little brother . . ." Patience pushed Serenity's shoulder lightly as she began to walk toward the well to get Kouji.

"I said don't yell at him, Patience!"

Serenity charged at her cousin. She wasn't going to anything except maybe make them even later . . . and she wanted to get out of this stupid shrine. 

Patience felt the air leave her lungs as Serenity slammed full force into her, sending both of them hurtling head first into the dry well. They hit the bottom at the same time with a dull thud. Patience stood up first, glad to find herself unharmed. She dusted herself off; to her dismay, her skirt had gotten dust all over it. _Great! Just what I need! _thought Patience. _Not only am I going to be later to school, I'm going to be covered in DIRT!_

"Umm . . ." Patience mumbled, her anger leaving her, as she saw the well walls were now covered in vines. "Serenity, I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore."

Serenity was staring at her. She knew that all too well already. OH NO, OH NO, OH NO . . . I KNEW I DIDN'T WANT TO GO IN THERE . . . KOUJI, YOU IDIOT, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!

  
  
  


a/n: Again, I would like to state that the authors of this fic respect and promote Inuyasha and Kagome as a couple, so no flames please. This is something we did out of boredom and . . . well . . . call it curiosity. 

  



	2. Up the Well Again

~ A Feudal Fairytale ~

  
  
  


Nihao, everyone, we're baaaaaaaaaaaaack! Hopefully you cared enough to continue this far. Once again, the disclaimer: neither one of us owns InuYasha or Ranma, because Rumiko Takahashi wouldn't give up the rights. *sigh* What do you do, right? We only own Serenity and Patience. Anyway, BOTH OF US _LOVE, LOVE, LOVE _INUYASHA AND KAGOME AS A COUPLE - THIS IS JUST SOMETHING WE DID FOR FUN. And there is nothing wrong with a little fun if no one is getting hurt. Right? *looks around* Right. Good. Glad we agree. 

All right, now, we can continue. Oh! I'm so excited. *dances around singing*

  
  
  


Chapter Two: Up the Well Again

  


"Hmm . . . these vines seem sturdy enough." Patience tugged on a vine to prove her theory and it came crashing down and hit her on the head. "Well, thank goodness there's a ladder on the other side of the freakin' WELL!!!"

Serenity stared at Patience for a moment, her face ghost white as she shook slightly, then she took off and was at the ladder in a blur of green and had begun climbing. 

She poked her head out and looked around cautiously. The forest seemed disturbingly familiar . . . but, she told herself, at least it also looked normal. She pulled herself up, landing on soft grass. Patience had been right. There was no way they were anywhere near Tokyo, much less Nerima. There was nothing like this anywhere near the city - not even in the many parks spread out around Tokyo.

"My God, she has the patience of a demon." Of course Patience was right behind her. "Hey! There's the God Tree! Let's go toward it and see if we can get a better view of this area."

Patience looked around and realized Serenity was gone. "SERENITY!?!"

"I'm up here," Serenity called.

"Why?" Patience was beginning to wonder about her cousin. 

Serenity just looked away. She had a good view that stretched for miles from the top of her tree. All she could see was the dense, green forest - the God Tree towering above all others, for some reason sending a deep chill down her spine - and . . . she squinted her eyes . . . a small town, nothing but a spot in the distance, but still there.

Hmm . . . maybe they could ask the people there how to get home. 

She started the climb down. It felt good to have the rough bark under her palm, as strange as it was. It had been a long time since she had climbed a tree. She had forgotten how much she loved it. 

"Hey, Patience, there's a . . . WAIT UP!!!"

Patience had already headed into the forest. Angry and _slightly _annoyed, Serenity dropped lightly to the ground then jogged to catch up with her, her face pinched into a frown. 

"You little . . ."

Patience could hear Serenity mumbling, but at this point she didn't really care. She had to find out where in the Hell that stupid well had taken them.

A branch smacked her in the face. She put a hand to her cheek. "SHIT!" That was all she needed. Once more thing to add to the long list of junk she had had to put up with this morning. AND SHE HAD ONLY GOTTEN THREE FREAKIN' HOURS OF SLEEP!!!

She didn't like this . . . she didn't like this . . . she definitely did _not _like this . . . Serenity as if her lungs were being crushed, the power of the forest was so incredible. It was trying to suffocate her, just like in her dream.

She trudged along slowly behind Patience, her arms wrapped around herself so she wouldn't start shaking uncontrollably as she stared at the ground. This place was not 'normal' as she had thought. That was all too obvious now. It wasn't any better than the well house. In fact, this was even worse . . . 

She wanted to go home.

"Serenity, hurry up! I think I see the God Tree!" Patience couldn't wait any longer. She had to do something. She grabbed the nearest branch and climbed the tree. She saw a small village off in the distance, but what in the world had happened? Nothing looked familiar. Absolutely nothing. Where were they?

"Well, we are definitely not in Tokyo. But where could we be?" Patience asked Serenity as she climbed down. Her foot slipped as she was descending the last few branches. Patience landed on her butt. "God damn it!" This was definitely not her day. "I just wanted to get to school on time!"

"Shut up!" Serenity yelled. "Get up and let's go. I want to get out of here . . . Tokyo or not . . ."

She looked around her fearfully, her greenish-gray eyes wide, making her look like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, then held out her hand to help Patience to her feet. 

"Thanks." Patience got up. Just one more bruise and on a place she didn't care for one. And why was Serenity being so, so ANNOYING and, well GROTCHY!?! Well, at least for today and maybe until they got home, she couldn't tell her just how, for lack of a better word, shitty a day she was having. And that god damned dream waking her up hadn't helped any, or had it been Serenity that had woken her up? ARGGG!!!

_Why is this forest taking _so long _to get through!? _Serenity's mind screamed. It couldn't possibly be that large - could it? Oh, God, she hoped not! She shuddered even to think about it. She wanted to be free of these trees so badly she was ready to burst into tears any minute. 

She just wanted to breathe, was that too much to ask!?

Serenity tilted her head back to look into the sky. It was blue and cloudless . . . She couldn't wait to be able to see it without the - she gritted her teeth - limbs of the STUPID FREAKIN' CREEPY FOREST blocking her view.

She suddenly found herself face-first on the ground, a terrible pain wrenching through her ankle.

She groaned.

Patience whirled around - what in the Hell had Serenity done now? Patience saw that she had sprained her ankle. "Yeah, just add one more thing to my day! You just had to go and trip, DIDN'T YOU!?!" Immediately she regretted saying it. Serenity's expression darkened.

"Oh, and how do you think _I _feel, huh? I've been through the same crap as you. Now help me up," Serenity retorted. Why was Patience being so crabby? 

"I'm going to get help. I can't carry your butt anywhere."

"I'm not askin' you to carry me. HELP ME UP!"

"Serenity, be SERENE!"

"Patience, be PATIENT!"

"Bye."

"WHATEVER!"

Patience was gone before Serenity had gotten the word out of her mouth.

_I can't believe she just left me here ALONE in this . . . this place._

It was at that point she glanced up -

- And gasped. She was at the foot of the God Tree.

It didn't really become clear until that moment, but this was just like her dream. Her heart began to pound heavily with fear. She had to know if she was right.

Using the tree for balance, she got to her feet and, careful to keep her weight off her injured foot, hobbled around to the other side. She knew before he even came into view; she could sense the arrow. How, she didn't know, but none-the-less she knew for a fact it was there. 

Once again she saw the kind, sorrowful face. Serenity's heart fluttered in something other in fear for a split second and, without thinking, she stepped toward him, wanting to see if he truly was real.

It happened just like in the dream she had: she started to fall, having tripped over a upraised root, and reached out for something to help her regain her balance, finding the arrow and taking it with her as she hit the ground. She sat there in a crouch for a moment, wondering if she should look up or not . . .

She couldn't resist. She glanced at the boy . . . and again, those hate-filled eyes bore into hers.

Serenity fell back with a soft cry and hit her head against a rock.

Then everything went black.

  


~ * ~ 

  


Patience stalked through the forest, wondering if she was even going in the right direction. 

_Why_ had she left Serenity in that place when she had obviously been so scared? Of what, Patience could only guess. Serenity was such a wuss . . . and where was she, anyway?

Patience tripped, fell to the ground, and skinned her knee. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed. She screamed until she couldn't scream anymore. What in the Hell was going on here? Was the world against her today or something? And she was getting blood on her new skirt. She had just gotten it in a package from Courtney in Arizona. It was a beautiful flower print that was light and fairy-like.

Patience tore the sleeve off her school vest. Oops! Such a pity. She would really miss that ugly school blue-gray. 

She saw a stream. The sleeve of the vest soaked up water well. _Well, _she thought, _at least I wore my fairy sleeve shirt. I can stay a little bit warm tonight!_

Patience decided to let the water clean out her cut before she went on. _No use getting myself sick, _she thought. She sat down against the nearest tree. Man, that bruise still hurt. But if felt sooo good to sit down.

Patience was soon fast asleep.

She awoke hours later to a soft giggle. And it seemed to come from the tree across from her. And just when she began to believe it was true, a head popped out from behind the tree. It was a little girl, no more than six years old.

It had gotten darker, almost sunset in fact. What was this little girl doing here at this time of day? OH! And did she know of anyone who could help Serenity?

"Hey! Sweetheart. Do you know someone who can help a hurt friend of mine?" She would get the girl home later. She had to help Serenity.

The child nodded eagerly.

"Can you take me to them?"

The child again nodded quite enthusiastically. She grabbed Patience's hand and began to pull her deeper into the forest. _Where is she taking me? _Patience wondered to herself, letting the girl drag her along behind her. They arrived at their destination sooner than Patience had expected.

Standing with their back turned to Patience, the person spoke as the child tugged on the hem of their pant leg: "Yes, Rin? What do you want?"

That voice! It was . . . but no. 

Rin pointed to her and the figure turned around. NO! It wasn't possible. But there he was. It was from her dream. The blue crescent moon.

"Yes?"

Patience grasped for words, but only one thing escaped her lips: "Wow."

  
  
  


a/n: Again, I would like to state that both of the authors of this story respect, promote, and love Inuyasha and Kagome as a couple. No flames, please. This is something we did for fun.

__

__


	3. Meetings or Reunions?

~ A Feudal Fairytale ~

  
  
  


Hello, all, time for chapter three. Aren't we all excited? Hmm!? Well, if you have read this far I certainly hope you are. Anyway, as always: BOTH PATIENCE AND I LOVE INUYASHA AND KAGOME AS A COUPLE, WE WERE JUST BORED ONE DAY AND DECIDED TO EXPERIMENT, ALL RIGHT!? NO FLAMES, PLEASE!!! And neither of us own InuYasha or Ranma, 'cause Rumiko Takahashi is stubborn. : ( Oh well, can't always get what you want, 'ne? We do, however, own Serenity Ikari and Patience Galloway. Sooooo . . . on with the story!!! Yay!!! Let's all do the writing dance! *dance, dance with the pencil* Yeah . . . *sweatdrops* Yeah, I'm nut escaped from the padded room. I like it there, so, nyah, nyah! Hey, stop looking at me!

  
  
  


Chapter Three: Meetings . . .or Reunions?

  


The first thing Serenity heard when she came to was a high, child-like voice asking fearfully, "Is she dead?" and she was also being poked lightly in the knee, which was annoying, but she didn't want to talk or move enough at the moment to put a stop to it. It would have been too much of an effort. 

"Nay, child, she'll be fine," came another voice, a woman's, and an older one, too.

"Oh. She doesn't look fine . . ."

"You need to move over, Shippo," said a third voice, a girl's. She sounded as if she was near Serenity's age. "I need to bandage her leg and you're in my way."

Where was she, anyway, and how did she get there? Had Patience gone for help like she had said? She could tell she was laying on a bed or a mat with a light blanket thrown over her for warmth; the sharp, pungent, earthy smell of herbs filled the air, calming her down a little; and she could feel someone gently wrapping her ankle - the girl, probably, judging by what she had heard. Well, at least it wasn't hurting that much anymore and she was out of the forest, which was a big relief - she could breathe again and the overwhelming sense of power was gone. 

Good.

A moment later she felt a slight weight of some kind on her chest and opened her eyes.

Serenity found herself staring into a pair of large green-blue eyes. A small child - an unusually small child, actually, but he had to be at least seven - sat there, cross-legged, gazing at her, concern pinching his small face. His ears under his shaggy light brown hair were oddly pointed and he had a . . . bushy tail? Strange. But, then, the boy pinned to the God Tree had dog ears, so she guessed that shouldn't surprise her. People here in whatever kind of crazy, mixed up dream world she had apparently fallen into somehow were weird. 

She refused to think about the fact that she had somehow dreamed about the boy, too.

"Ah, ye are awake."

She glanced over at the other two people in the room: the girl looked as if she were only a year or so younger than her. She had long black hair that was tied back and dark reddish brown eyes, but the strangest thing was what she was wearing. Some kind of strange pink and red kimono that looked as if it had come from an ancient painting. Where had Patience taken her!? Some kind of fair ground or something? The old woman stood on the other side of the room, bent over a pot which sat atop a small fire in the floor, stirring whatever was inside, but her sharp eyes were on Serenity. It gave her the unsettling feeling she could see right into her soul. Serenity also had the strangest feeling of deja vu, as if she had not only _seen_ the woman before, but _knew_ her. 

That was enough to snap Serenity out of the comfortable, drowsy state she was in; at least enough to realize that although her ankle wasn't hurting her that much, almost every other part of her was.

"Are you feeling all right?" asked the little boy with a small bounce.

She pulled herself into a sitting position with a groan. Her head ached as if she had been hit by a truck . . . her ankle was still throbbing slightly . . . her back hurt . . . "Yeah, sure, kid. Never felt better."

The boy looked considerably relieved; the old woman's mouth tightened into a thin line. "Hmm. Ye speak a strange dialect. Where are ye from, child?"

_I speak a strange dialect?_ Serenity thought. _You just said ye, and _I'm _the one that speaks strangely? _Well, if Patience had, for some reason, taken her to a theme park of some kind, it was an amazingly thorough one. 

"Nerima," she answered. "Tokyo."

"Ne-ri-ma? Tok-y-o? Never heard of them."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. She hadn't heard of Tokyo? The capital of Japan? She said it with such a straight face that was a little much, even for an employee at some park or whatever this was.

She was about ready to ask if the woman was joking, but then she looked around once more and the question died on her lips. She was in a hut, a one room hut, made out of uneven, unsanded wood. She, the little boy, and the girl were on the raised part of the floor, which had nothing on it but the mat, the only window above their heads, the dull light of sunset seeping through; the other half of the room had a small table, her book bag and Patience's piled on top of it in a disorderly heap, and the fire pit the woman was cooking over, but that was it. Small bundles of herbs hung from the ceiling filling the room with their scent and on the wall hung a long, beat-up, rusty sword with something glowing on the hilt. She couldn't help thinking it looked very similar to the one she remembered the young man having . . .

She couldn't believe it.

Suddenly she felt more awake and alert than she had before than in her entire life. 

She was not in Tokyo anymore. Definitely not. She wasn't even in her own time. No theme park she had ever been to was this detailed. There wasn't anything remotely like this . . . this hut in 1997 . . . and . . . 

And the old woman . . . She looked closer at what she was wearing and almost cried out. It was too perfect, way too perfect to be a fake or replica . . . She was dressed like a priestess from the . . . the . . . what was it!? Oh, what had Mr. Toriyama called it!? Ugh, she should have paid more attention in history class . . . 

Wait!

The Sengoku Jedai. The Warring States Era. Yeah, that was it!

Oh God. What was she going to do!?

Kaede could see the panic written clearly on the girl's face. Her eyes had gone wide enough to see the whites and she went from merely being pale to being a sickly gray color in a matter of moments as if she was going to be sick, and she looked as though she would start screaming at any moment.

"Shippo, kindly go fetch me some water."

She gave the young kitsune a wooden bucket and motioned for Sango to follow him. Sango nodded her understanding and with a last curious glance at the girl, ushered Shippo out the door, a small white and black kitten Serenity hadn't noticed before following closely at her heels.

Kaede turned to study the girl herself as soon as they had gone. She looked nothing like Kikyo, with her lighter hair and strange colored eyes, yet the old priestess could sense the same energy, the same immense spiritual power coming from her. Her dark eyes narrowed. Could this strange girl truly be the reincarnation of her dead sister?

She wondered.

She ladled some of the herb broth from the pot into a cup for the girl and handed it to her. She stared at it fearfully for a long moment before taking it, although she still didn't raise it to her lips to drink. Kaede then sat down on the edge of the raised floor and looked into the girl's eyes, glad to be off her aching feet.

"What is wrong, child?" asked Kaede, concerned. "Ye look as though ye has seen a spirit."

The girl's eyebrows shot up, her hands clenching around her cup. Kaede sighed. This looked to be harder than she had at first thought, since she didn't seem inclined to talk.

"Very well, child. May I at least have your name?"

The girl relaxed somewhat. "Serenity," she said.

"A strange name," Kaede mused quietly, more to herself than Serenity, then said, "I am Kaede, priestess of this village. Tell me, child, what were ye doing in the Forest of Inuyasha?"

Serenity looked thoughtful, then her eyes, a captivating color falling between gray and green, lit up with interest. "Inuyasha?" she repeated. "That boy pinned to the God Tree?"

"Aye. What were ye doing there and how did you remove the spell?"

"Spell? What spell? Oh, you mean the arrow?"

Kaede nodded and the girl continued: "Well, I, um, tripped and it just kind of came out in my hand. Sorry if I did something wrong." She grinned sheepishly. 

The old woman wondered at Serenity's unconcerned tone. Had she no idea of what could come of this?

"How did I get here, anyway?" she asked, her smile fading as she looked around the hut worriedly. "And, Kaede, where is Patience? My cousin. She was with me earlier."

Kaede was tempted to ignore the girl's questions in light of the more important matters at hand, but she looked so anxious she felt compelled to say something.

"Patience? Nay, child. I'm sorry. Ye were the only one Inuyasha carried back."

An expression of mixed fear and curiosity crossed Serenity's face, her lost cousin temporarily forgotten. "_That's_ how I got here?" she said, barely masking her excitement. "Inuyasha carried me?"

"Aye, child."

She let Serenity sit in thought after that, as she needed to think herself. It was obvious that the girl knew very little - if anything - of what she may have unwittedly put in motion by setting Inuyasha free of her sister's spell.

Ever since Kikyo's death Kaede had kept the jewel and protected it, taking great pains to convince everyone in the village she had burned it with her sister's body; it hadn't been hard, as everyone had heard Kikyo ask her to do so before she died. She just hadn't been able to bring herself to actually do it. It was the only thing of Kikyo's besides the bow she had to remind her of her dear older sister. Demons, assuming it had been destroyed and not being able to sense it themselves, had forgotten it or given up searching for it long ago, never dreaming it was right under most of their noses the entire time. But now, with Inuyasha free and still hungering after it's power in a extremely vocal and violent way, the village might soon have some unwanted visitors. Inuyasha not in the least. He was powerful for a hanyou and more than stubborn. The command rosary she had place around his neck when he had, for some unknown reason, brought Serenity to her would work for now, but she couldn't be sure how long that would last. It couldn't be removed by him, but besides being determined, he had his own brand of intelligence that often made him quite cunning and creative. She remembered all of Kikyo's battles with him quite well. 

She had to be prepared. Kikyo had given her life for this village, she couldn't let anything happen to it now, and to protect it from the likes of Inuyasha she would need all the help she could get. She was all too aware that Miroku, Sango, and Shippo might not be enough, but this girl . . .

Kaede turned back to Serenity.

"Have ye ever heard of the Shikon no Tama?" she asked.

"My grandpa told me about it when I was little," Serenity said, "but it's just a legend. It's hard to believe anything Grandpa says, anyway."

She trailed off, shaking her head, a small, sad smile touching her lips.

Kaede sighed. She had much to explain to this girl if she was to be of any help and it weighed heavily on her.

"A legend it may be, but a true one, child," Kaede began in a weary voice. "It exists. I have it my possession as we speak, unbeknownst to any other."

  


~ * ~

  


Serenity shivered. Inuyasha had attacked Kikyo to get the jewel to become a full demon, even after he had said he loved her and promised to live with her as a human man? That . . . that . . . She remembered his cold, heartless eyes and shivered again. Maybe it shouldn't surprise her as much as it did . . . 

She shook her head slowly, sadly, and looked at Kaede. "Did he really do that?" she asked.

"Aye, and afterwards he attacked the village to steal it. It was then that Kikyo bound him to the God Tree." Kaede gave her a smile meant to reassure her. "Ye look surprised. I admit, I was too after it happened. Even now I can't scarce believe that he would do such a thing. I told him this afternoon when he brought ye here that Kikyo was dead, and had been nigh on fifty years. He laughed it off, his usual brash, arrogant self, but his eyes were sad. I believe he feels guilt for his deed. I have no doubt he cared for Kikyo once."

Kaede ended her tale there, telling her there was nothing more to say about it. She got up and began to bustle around the hut, busying herself with her herbs and potions. Serenity watched her, thinking about all she had heard. So many strange things had happened in the last twenty-four hours she would be lying if she said she didn't believe Kaede. There was something about the old priestess that she couldn't help but trust - and she had been through enough to know that anything was possible. Kaede had no reason to lie, either.

She also had a sneaking suspicion that Kaede had told her all this for a reason. Why, she could only guess, and all the things she came up with only served to scare her even more.

She shook her head with a deep sigh. She had never asked for any of this, so how exactly did she get dragged into it? The day had started out so normal, so, so normal and now she was on the other side of a well in the Sengoku Jedai. If it hadn't been so freakin' scary, it would have been one of those, "Hey, let me tell you about my day," things that you can laugh about later with your friends and forget after that. 

Serenity couldn't help but smile wryly. Yeah, as if anyone would believe her except Patience.

Hmm . . . Where was Patience, anyway? She had forgotten all about her. _Lord, I hope she's okay, _Serenity thought. _I wonder if she knows exactly where we are yet . . . _

She pictured Patience, out alone in the middle of that stupid, creepy forest hurt or . . . or . . . _God_ . . . something even worse. That was the only reason she could think that Patience wouldn't have come back for her. She and Patience fought a lot, but they were closer than sisters and would never abandon each other.

_Oh God! What in the Hell have I been doing just sittin' here!? I have to find her!_

"Kaede," she said, "are you sure Inuyasha didn't bring anyone else back?" 

"Aye," Kaede answered, pausing in her work.

Serenity winced. If anything happened to her she would never, ever forgive herself. "Then, where is Inuyasha?" she demanded. "I have to find my cousin. He might have seen her."

_I can't imagine why she would let him take me without coming with him, but . . . _

A frown creased Kaede's forehead. "Outside, child," she said slowly. "In a tree, most likely."

Serenity pulled herself to her feet, wincing again, this time in pain, as she put her sore ankle down, testing it, but she gritted her teeth against the pain and began to make her way to the door. Her earlier fear of the hanyou was forgotten in her concern for her cousin's safety. 

"Are ye sure ye can make it?" Kaede asked in concern. 

"I'll be fine," Serenity replied roughly through clenched teeth. 

Kaede hesitated with uncharacteristic indecision, then called, "Wait, child."

She saw the girl tense, but, to Kaede's relief, she stopped and turned to face her. "If on the chance that Inuyasha tries to attack ye, all ye need to do to stop him from doing harm is call 'osuwari.' Miroku and Sango will also be out there to stop him if he should try anything."

Serenity's eyes widened, but then she merely nodded and disappeared out the door.

_Mayhap she is more like my sister than I thought, _Kaede thought. _The girl has courage, however hidden it may seem. _She went back to her potions, silently going over how she was going to explain her suspicions and expectations to the girl when she came back; and she had no doubt she would.

  
  
  


a/n: Once again, both Serenity and Patience are advocates of the couple of Inuyasha and Kagome. Flames are unnecissary and will be ignored, so don't be morons and leave them for us to read. If you do, it will prove nothing except how low your I.Q. is. I wouldn't want to do that if I were you, so . . . 

Yeah.

  



	4. Walking

~ A Feudal Fairytale ~ 

  
  
  


Oh, yeah!!! My turn!!! Oh, this is Patience speaking here. Serenity has been hogging all the author notes up till now and so BWAHAHAHA!!! I tied her up and voila! My turn!!!!! Okay, so here we go....... We do not own InuYasha nor Ranma. And its not as if we don't want to but through all our searches of Rumiko Takahashi's home we haven't found any of the papers that give her rights to either of the animes. *sniff* We do, however, own Patience Galloway and Serenity Ikari, so no stealie! Good peoples. Oh, and both of us do believe in Inuyasha and Kagome as a couple. Well, the cats are getting restless to read this (yeah, sure they are.....) So here we go.............. 

  
  
  


Chapter Four: Walking

  


The female human hadn't said a single word in nearly an hour. All she did was stare. At first, Sesshomaru had to admit to himself, that was what he had done too. But she was so, well, different from any other human he had ever seen before. Her eyes were a bright, piercing blue, as clear as any sky. She had a fresh cut across her cheek as if she had been smacked in the face by a tree. And her hair . . . He had never seen hair that color. It was red. Not a coppery red like a weakling fox demon's tended to be. It was dark red and fiery. He had wanted to run his fingers through it the moment he had seen it to see if it were real or just some illusion.

But neither of these things had made her truly different. He felt as if he knew her. As if they had known each other before. And it was quite clear from the looks she kept giving him that she knew him from some previous place as well. It had kept him from killing this presumptuous human right off. That and the fact that his Rin hadn't seemed scared. Rin had instead seemed proud to bring this human to him, as if she knew he would help her.

  


~ * ~

  


Patience couldn't understand it. Why couldn't she speak? This was only the guy of her dreams, quite literally speaking. His face was so cold, devoid of all expression, but his eyes . . . They were gold and so full of emotion they seemed to burn into her every time he looked at her. What was going on behind his stone visage?

She realized that she was staring, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. As in her dream, he was perfect, too perfect to be human. His hair was almost longer than hers, but in a strange contrast, it was a silvery white. It was not a pale white, either, but a, well . . . a strong white. She had never seen more beautiful hair in her entire life. She wished she had her bookbag with her, she had a brush in it. His would be so much fun to play around with. Serenity never let her play with hers . . . Serenity!!! Her bookbag!!! She had left it with Serenity! _Stupid!_ she thought. _How could I have forgotten about Serenity?_

Patience covered her face with her hands.

Sesshomaru looked at her; her felt very concerned, although he would never let it pass over his face. What could be wrong with this human? And why would he care? Humans were beneath his concern . . . 

"Can you help me?" Patience finally said, the urgency coming through in her voice.

"How?" Sesshomaru wondered aloud.

"My cousin, Serenity, is hurt. I left her near the God Tree. She can't walk and I'm afraid of what could happen to her. This little girl . . ."

"Rin," he broke in, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"Rin found me after I had scraped up my knee pretty badly and I asked her for help. She brought me to you," Patience finished with a final burst of energy. "Can you help me?"

This human looked desperate and for some odd reason Sesshomaru wanted to help her and make everything all right for her again. _Well, _he thought, _I'll help her . . . this time. . . for Rin_.

"Come," he said, motioning quickly in the direction they had to go. It wasn't far. They would make it in a couple of hours. But . . . What was it? Oh, yes, Inuyasha, that pitiful half-breed, half-brother of his was pinned to that tree - with the Tetsusaiga. Well, if this human had seen him she let nothing show about it.

This guy was absolutely silent. They had been walking for an hour already and Patience didn't know how he pulled it off. She was practically bursting at the seams to talk.

"What's your name?" she finally burst out with, hoping she didn't seem too eager.

"Sesshomaru," he answered, his face never changing, but in his eyes Patience saw a flicker of curiosity.

"Sesshomaru," she repeated, letting it roll off her tongue. "It means 'killing beauty,' right?"

"I prefer 'killing perfection.'" Sesshomaru hated the true meaning of his name,and so he had simply changed it one day on a whim. It hadn't been too difficult, since no one would dare oppose him in anything he did.

The Killing Beauty or Killing Perfection. _Well, I don't know about the killing part, but beauty and perfection sure fit him - and to a tee, _Patience thought, silently studying Sesshomaru. She couldn't find a single defect. Well, at least not physically, anyway.

Sesshomaru knew the human was watching him. She was "checking him out," as it were and though he would never admit it to her or anyone else for that matter, he enjoyed her probing gaze. He liked for her to study him. He felt, well, it didn't matter what he felt. Emotions for weaklings who possessed no self-control. 

"My name's Patience," she said.

_Patience, _Sesshomaru thought. _Why does that name touch me so, as if I should know it?_

"Can we stop and rest?" Patience had already sat down next to a tree.

Sesshomaru looked for Rin so they could be on their way, but she had already sat down in Patience's lap and fallen into a light sleep.

_It seems my Rin has found a new friend, _Sesshomaru thought almost sadly; but there was something motherly about Patience. She was kind to Rin and no matter how much he wanted to he couldn't give Rin that kind of affection. The kind of affection she needed and he knew she craved. 

Patience was tired. Unbelievably tired. She was still sore. Her rear was sore, her face still stung, and her knee wasn't feeling too well either. She wanted to rest and quite obviously Rin did too, as she was already fast asleep in Patience's lap. Poor thing, she thought. Looks like she needs to rest more than I do. She let Rin nestle up to her. Patience smoothed her little friend's hair and watched her as she slept peacefully. It was so sweet. She laid her head back and closed her eyes. Patience was soon fast asleep. 

  
  
  


a/n: Yeah!!! I'm free of her bondage!!!*sigh* Eat cloth evil Patience! Soo. . . how do you like being tied up? Huh? Huh? *pokes Patience with a stick* again *sigh* I hate doing this, but since some people are insensitive idiots, I have to: Both authors of this fic promote, support, love, and protect the couple of Inuyasha and Kagome, this was just a project to eat away our summer months. Oh, and if you liked it, click on the magical shiny button down there you know you want to press and tell us so. If you do, I'll give you a cookie! : ) You know you wanna . . . 


	5. Inuyasha

~ A Feudal Fairytale ~ 

  
  
  


Oh, yay, it's time for chapter five! Five! Wow! We actually got this far, and guess what y'all, if you haven't guessed it by the chapter titled, INUYASHA FINALLY MAKES AN APPEARANCE - ONE IN WHICH HE TALKS!!! **collective gasp** Okay, standard procedure: We do not own InuYasha or Ranma, blah, blah, doesn't anyone else get tired of this!? We own Serenity and Patience, that is all. And we, for the fifth freakin' time, are totally for Inuyasha and Kagome as a couple. We love it! NO FLAMES!!! Well, I guess we'll start with the chapter. *smiles* 

  
  
  


Chapter Five: Inuyasha

  


Inuyasha stared at the full moon surrounded by a clear sea of stars, his face softening for the moment with thought. 

So . . . Kikyo was dead, huh? The thought ran in circles through his mind. He tried to shove aside the part of him that cared, hiding it behind every ounce anger he possessed, but it was no use. The ache wouldn't go away, no matter what he did or what he told himself. He cared - but, of course, not that much and not that the damned bitch deserved it. Feh. It was she that had betrayed him, first attacking him without warning in the woods, then binding him to that tree for fifty years. He should be mad, angry, enraged - and a large part of him was, he hated that bitch for what she had done to him - but another part of him also wouldn't let him forget that she had been the first human since his mother to look at him as anything other than a monster. But, then again, that would always be followed by the memory of her in the woods, her bow drawn and aimed at him, yelling, "Die, Inuyasha!" and the unfamiliar warm feelings only she had ever awoken in him would be erased and be replaced by not just anger, but pure rage. 

The pain, anger, sadness, disbelief, and confusion twisted together into a extremely complicated knot he couldn't puzzle out not matter how many times he examined it. It was really starting to grate on his nerves. He was beginning to wonder why he was even bothering with it.

"Even after she dies, the bitch still finds a way to torment me," he muttered.

He resolved not to think about her again. She wasn't worth his time or energy. 

_I wonder who killed her, _he thought against his will a moment later, his eyes unconsciously narrowing into dangerous slits, the urge to laugh as strong as the urge he felt to go out and get revenge on any person who would dare harm her. _Feh. I hope she's resting happily in Hell, where she belongs._

Serenity stared at the hanyou, who was resting on lowest branch of the tree. From what Kaede had said, she would have thought he would know she was there. Was he ignoring her? Should she call out to him? She bit her lip at that thought. Oh, lord, she didn't want to do that . . . The memory of his eyes still burned quite clearly in her mind. But, even still, she couldn't stop the feeling that tightened her stomach as she watched him. He looked so . . . sad. 

She shook her head, disgusted with herself. While she was standing here, staring like some elementary girl with a stupid crush, who knew what was happening to Patience - and since it didn't seem as if he was going to notice she was there anytime soon, she had no choice but to call to him . . .

_Oh, lord, _she thought. _Don't let him eat me . . . _

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!"

The loud, urgent calls reached his sensitive ears breaking him out of his thoughts at the same moment the familiar, yet unfamiliar scent invaded his even more sensitive nostrils: like Kikyo, but . . . not. He recognized it immediately. It was the wench that had freed him. He had forgotten about her.

Why had he brought her here, anyway? Because she smelled like Kikyo? 

He couldn't remember, but he already wished like Hell that he hadn't. He glanced contemptuously at the black beaded rosary that now hung around his neck. He had forgotten about the cursed thing, too, until just that moment. It was the only thing standing between him and the sacred jewel. For now, anyway. There was a way around any obstacle, but . . . it was still her fault that old hag priestess had put this damned thing on him in the first place, slowing him down. She had pulled out the arrow, waking him up from his enchanted sleep, which had brought him to the village, and if he hadn't come back, this never would have happened. Damned wench.

He growled low. 

"INUYASHA!"

Inuyasha looked down. The girl stood under the branch he was sitting on, glaring up at him, her hands on her hips. He could tell by the way she was favoring one side, though, that she was still in pain, so what in the seven Hells was she doing outside with an injury like that? 

He looked away, leaning back against the tree again. It was none of his concern what she did. 

Serenity narrowed her eyes, her fear of him forgotten now in not only her concern for her cousin, but her anger, too. He was _going_ to hear her out. 

"INUYASHA!" she screamed, loud enough to hurt his ears. "You freakin' insensitive jerk. You can ignore me all you want, but MY COUSIN NEEDS HELP AND YOU ARE GOING TO HELP ME FIND HER!"

Serenity watched him for any sign that he was listening, but as he had his eyes closed, not even facing her, she seriously doubted it. _That idiot! _she thought, ready to bash his head in. _He could at least _pretend_ to be listening to me!!! _Shefrowned darkly. _And to think I thought he looked . . . _

_ Oh, who cares!? Patience needs help!_

_But, how do I get his attention? _Serenity bit her lip, her eyes still on the hanyou as she considered her options. None of them seemed good. She had to remember that he could kill her at any time if he wanted, and she would prefer to stay alive to see Patience and the rest of her family again. _Think, think, Serenity, think! You aren't that stupid. You can do this! Wait . . . What was it Kaede said? Man! Crap! WHAT WAS THAT WORD!? _

Inuyasha knew she was still down there, he could smell her . . . but what was she doing? He opened one eye and spared her a single, passing glance so she wouldn't know he was looking. She hadn't moved at all. She was still staring up at him, her gaze piercing enough to send shivers down even his back. 

He couldn't help wondering what she was thinking about and what it meant for him.

He didn't think it was going to be good, whatever it was.

_Osuwari! _Serenity thought suddenly. _That's it!_

"Inuyasha," she said, the grin on her face uncharacteristically devilish, "I'm giving you one more chance. Are you going to help me or am I going to have to make you?"

"Why should I bother with you, wench?"

Serenity shrugged. "All right, but remember - I gave you a chance. Inuyasha . . . OSUWARI!"

Inuyasha felt the tug an instant before he found himself laying face-first on the ground. He pulled himself up and rounded on her, his face red from the impact with the dirt. "Damn it, wench, that hurt!" he yelled. 

He wanted to attack her, but because of the damned necklace he couldn't. She would just 'sit' him before he got a chance to do anything. He had to content himself with another growl. Gods this was so damned aggravating! 

She just shrugged as if none of it had any affect on her, her greenish-gray eyes maddeningly calm as she stared at him. "I warned you," she said. "Don't blame me for your stupidity."

"MY STUPIDITY! _MY STUPIDITY! _WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"

"Are you going to help me or not, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha turned away, smirking. "Feh. Give me one good reason why I should."

Serenity sighed. "Fine," she said, "then, at least answer one question for me."

Inuyasha jumped up into the tree in one swift, graceful, fluid movement and resettled himself against the trunk. He tucked his hands behind the back of his head, closed his eyes, and pretended to ignore her. _Oh, this is useless! _she thought, frustrated to the point where she was almost crying. Serenity considered 'sitting' him again, it had at least gotten his attention - but only for a little while, though. Trying it again would only waste time she didn't have. She had already wasted enough precious time arguing with this idiot. He probably wouldn't answer her no matter what she did.

"Fine, whatever," she mumbled, shaking her head. "You wanna be like that, go ahead. I'll find her myself. I don't care what I have to do. But, Inuyasha?"

As quiet as her voice was, he heard it. "What?" he asked, unconcerned.

"OSUWARI!"

She stalked away - well, she tried to, anway, and was doing a fairly decent job, too, despite her ankle - hearing the satisfying sound of him hitting the ground again behind her.

"DAMNED WENCH!"

"WELL, IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT!" she yelled without looking back.

Inyasha got to his feet and was back in the tree in a flash of red. He followed her rather slow progress, a strange, unreadable expression on his face. He frowned. Feh. Stupid wench. Who did she think she was? She had no right to order him around. He didn't have to do a God damned thing for her - he had already saved her life by bringing her back to the village, which was more than she deserved. What more did she expect from him? He couldn't go running off every time a human got themselves in trouble. They got themselves in it, they could get themselves out. 

He huffed indignantly, leaning back against the tree again, forcing his eyes closed. 

He had more important things to worry about than some stupid human girl who smelled like the woman that had killed him and didn't even have enough sense to stay off her feet when she was hurt, anyway . . .

He glanced after her again. He couldn't see her; she had disappeared into the forest already. Something like concern sprang up, but it he quickly squashed it into nothingness.

Like he had said, what the wench did was her business.

He had to figure out a way to get this damned rosary off so he could get the Shikon jewel . . . That was what he should be worried about. Not that damned girl. 

Inuyasha tried again to pull the necklace off and again his hands were shocked by the power of it. 

~ * ~

  


_Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, what did I just do!?_ Serenity thought. She could feel herself shaking as she walked along the forest's edge. She couldn't see the village anymore. _He could have . . . I don't know! Eaten me or something! I can't believe I was yelling at him!_

_Oh shut up, _she yelled at herself, getting sick of hearing herself think. She peered into the forest, it's dark depths even more forbidding now without Patience - well, that and the fact that, like in her dream, it was engulfed by a dark purple light. She was half tempted to go back to village and make Inuyasha come with her somehow just so she wouldn't have to go in there alone. She was surprised to discover that even after how he had treated her, there was still a part of her that . . . trusted him . . . And fighting with him had seemed a little too familiar to her, just as he himself had. _What!? Am I crazy!? Hmph. I wouldn't ask him for a thing. Besides . . . I can do this alone . . . I think . . . _

_ Ah, Hell, Serenity, you _have _to. Patience might be in there!_

Serenity bit her lip, hard. She tasted blood not even a moment later. Could she really do this? She didn't want to go back in there . . . It still scared her half to death - even more after listening to Kaede's stories. 

_But you have to, Serenity!_ she told herself again. 

She sighed in resignation, her teeth sinking even deeper into her bottom lip. It didn't matter if she was scared. She had to find Patience. That came first, before even her own safety. If anything happened to Patience just because she was afraid to go into a stupid forest . . . 

That was it. Serenity gritted her teeth, forcing her fear down into the bottom of her stomach where it turned into an hard, uncomfortable knot, and, taking a deep breath to prepare herself, stepped into the cover of the forest. Once again, she felt as if she were being squeezed on all sides by the power of this place. __

_ I can't believe I'm doing this! _she cried silently, staring around her fearfully. 

_Oh, stop being a baby! You can do this . . . It's just a forest, for crying out loud._

_ Yeah, a really creepy one!_

She shook her head. She couldn't do this. She had a job to do.

"Patience!" she called at the top of her lungs. "Patience! Where are you!

  
  
  


a/n: Lalalalalala . . . *sigh* The customary second author's note. Let's get this done and over with, shall we? Patience and Serenity do support Inuyasha and Kagome as a couple, despite this nature of this fic, so NO FLAMES!!! Only evil people leave flames to hurt other peoples, so, unless you want to meet my T-chans, I wouldn't to it to us. *narrows eyes* I mean it, too. But, if the good peoples who read this like the fic, tell us so by clicking that wonderful little button below and giving us a review! I'll give you cookies and candies, promise!

  
  


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	6. The Morning After

~ A Feudal Fairytale ~

  
  
  


Okay, so once again it is my turn to write the little note thing. (Either that or Serenity is asleep and is helpless to stop me.......) Okay so.........we don't own InuYasha or Ranma (and yes that show's characters may again show up, but we haven't gotten that far quite yet, so the disclaimer is staying up there!) We do however own Patience Galloway and Serenity Ikari, so please don't steal.........oh, I almost forgot!! How stupid of me to forget this!! Duh! Serenity and I are extreme advocates for KAGOME AND INUYASHA AS A COUPLE!!!! There are no questions on that fact. We just needed a summer project and besides that we just wanted to see what would happen. So on with the show.......

  
  
  


Chapter Six: The Morning After

  


_Patience sat in the backseat of her Da's 65' FORD Mustang. She and her parents were going on a picnic way out in the middle of nowhere.They had packed every food an American girl could ever ask for: fried chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, and of course, hamburgers. What more could anyone want?_

_ Sondou was talking about their upcoming trip. They were flying to Tokyo next week to visit Sondou's sister who had just had a baby boy. Patience's cousin Serenity had sent her pictures of him in her last letter and he was such a cute baby! So pudgy and cuddly-looking._

_ She had so much to be excited about, she could barely keep herself from bouncing around in the car._

_ A moment later she was wrenced violently from her thoughts; suddenly the car hit a pothole, went barreling off the road, and into the field next it. Just before it stopped rolling the front end burst into flames. Patience scrambled out of the car, hitting her head and scraping her knee. She could hear her parents screaming. It was too hot to get anywhere near it with out getting burned to death herself. "DA!" Patience screamed "Sondou! Get up! Wake up!!" She noticed that they had been knocked unconscious in the rolling of the car. NO!!!! "Get out!!! PLEASE!!!" Patience's panic rose. This wasn't happening, not again. "DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!!"_

  


~ * ~

  


Patience felt something sharp being poked into her shoulder. At first she thought she was still dreaming, but then she realized she was awake with a start. Staring her straight in the face was a little toad looking creature. It was disgusting - even more so because of the sneer plastered across it's hideously wrinkled face. 

"Get up human," it said with nothing less than malice in its grotesque voice.

"YOU!!! GOD DAMN YOU! HOW DARE YOU WAKE ME UP, YOU INSOLENT LITTLE CREEP!!!!" Patience screamed at it. She swatted at it and it went flying through the air until it finally hit a tree and was knocked out.

Rin, who had woken up long before Patience, clapped her hands and directed her radiant smile at Patience. She was obviously delighted that this creature had been smacked.

Patience turned her head and caught a quick glimpse of Sesshomaru giving Rin a tiny smile of amusement, but just as quickly as it had appeared, he hid it again, as if he were ashamed of it.

_He has a nice smile, _she thought, _I hope I get to see it again. . . .and soon._

Though his face had once again turned to stone, his mind was racing with concern. What could have troubled her so that it would follow her into her dreams? Could it be something from her past? Or maybe nothing real at all? Why did he even care? She wasn't important, just another silly little human. But she was kind to Rin. His poor Rin had been woken up by Patience's thrashing and screaming last night. Sesshomaru was curious as to how such a gentle person could be so violent at night. _But wait_, he thought, _many are gentle one minute and violent the next. She seems to be no different. At least she is only so in sleep._

Patience noticed Sesshomaru's eyes on her. They weren't roaming eyes. He seemed to have no interest in her that way, but in his eyes was a touch of . . . well . . . concern. But when he noticed her gaze on him he moved as if to turn away, but instead looked directly into her eyes. Patience felt as if her soul were being searched. As if memories were being pulled out as easily as files on a computer. She was the first to look away.

Sesshomaru saw a blush rise on Patience's cheeks. She was so lovely in the early morning light with her face painted a light shade of pink.

"Serenity . . . " Patience thought aloud. She looked again to Sesshomaru, not able to meet his gaze a second time "We have to go and find her. Now. If I let anything happen to her . . . " She trailed off not realizing that she had voiced her last thought.

Rin hugged Patience's legs in a comforting gesture as she stood up and shook all the planty things off of her. Patience swept the small child up into her arms and into a tight embrace.

Rin let Patience hug her, knowing that the older girl needed all the comfort she could get. And after last night, Rin was more than glad to have her nice, gentle new friend back.

Sesshomaru nodded and began to walk away from them.

_Wow_, Patience thought,_ I can see the God Tree from here. We must be really close. It sure didn't seem like it last night._

Fifteen minutes later they could see the base of the tree. She didn't see Serenity.

"God damn this shit!"Patience yelled when she saw nothing anywhere around the tree. No Serenity. No bags. Nothing. _What the hell happened to her? Where in the hell did she go!? _

"I told her that I was going to get help. Why in the hell did she move?" Patience began yelling out loud. "This is so stupid. Now I will never find that stupid idiot! What am I going to do now? Huh? Huh? What the freakin' hell am I going to do now?" she yelled at Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru looked at Patience with a small shrug. He didn't care what she did now. His duty to help her was over, he had done as he said he would. He walked around the tree and found no trace of his half-brother except for a hole in the tree and that cursed arrow on the ground. His half-brother was free. Now he could finally get the Tetsusaiga from him. The unintelligent half-breed didn't deserve the sword, much less understand how to use it properly. Oh, well, that would all soon be only a distant memory.

"Inuyasha is gone," Sesshomaru said, quickly realizing by the confusion in Patience's face that he needed to elaborate. "My half-demon, half-brother. He has my father's sword. I want it back. He has been pinned to this tree for the past fifty years. He is no longer here."

"So, you are all demon?" Patience asked her frustration slightly dissipating.

"Yes. I am a pure blooded inu youkai," he answered. "My half-brother is half inu youkai, half human. We share a father. He was nothing more than a foolish human lover." He regretted the last sentence as soon as it left his lips.

Patience couldn't hide the sorrow she felt at hearing those words. He could never love her then.

"I need to bathe and wash these clothes, they're filthy," Patience said trying to feign cheerfulness and act like she hadn't heard his last comment, but failing miserably. "Come on Rin, you need a bath as well."

Rin ran after Patience. She was happy to spend time with her new friend.

As he watched them walk away, Sesshomaru realized that for the first time in his life he felt sorry for something he had said. That was most strange.

  
  
  


a/n: Serenity's back! Muwahahahaha! Patience only _thought_ I was asleep - and she has paid the price! I repeat: Muwahahahaha!!! *looks at Patience through the bars of her new cage, smiling* Teehe. Ahem. Anyway. I will repeat, for the sixth time for the idiots out there, although if you have read this far I doubt you care one way or another if Inuyasha and Kagome are together in this fic, but still . . . SERENITY AND PATIENCE ARE DEVOTED TO THE COUPLE OF INUYASHA AND KAGOME. IT IS SOOOOOOOO SWEET, but it's summer and we needed something to occupy the empty months, and so here we are. NO FLAMES, OR I WILL SIC MY T-CHANS ON YOU! MUWAHAHAHA!!! And if you liked the story (*narrows eyes* And you know you do . . . Yes, that's right. OBEY ME! MUWAHAHAHAHA *cough, cough*) click on the nice little button-thingy below and tell us so. If it's nice, I'll give you a biiiiiiiiggggggggggg bag of candy . . . If Shippo doesn't eat it first . . . Down, Shippo!


	7. Together Again!

~ A Feudal Fairytale ~ 

  
  
  


Okay, here we go chapter 7 can you believe it? Chapter 7!!!! This chapter is a joint effort on the part of Serenity and I. It didn't take too long to type out for all y'all's enjoyment. AHHHHHHHH!!!!! She's tossing a ball at my head!!And she has a sand pail on her's!!!!! Someone help me!!!!!!!!I'm scared. Quick disclaimer: All Hail Rumiko Takahashi since we no longer own InuYasha nor Ranma (SHE STOLE THEM I SWEAR!!!!!!) But we do own Patience and Serenity so hands off all y'all. And never forget INUYASHA AND KAGOME ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER!!! Now on to the story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  
  
  


Chapter Seven: Together Again! 

  


Patience dove under the water. Man, it was cold, but she felt refreshed. It was good to get away from Sesshomaru. He could really be insensitive. Why didn't he think about what he said? God, the guys she chose! Well, right now she just wanted to relax, and thinking of Sesshomaru wouldn't help. All she needed was soap. _Lavender scented soap would be so nice right now, _she thought. 

"Patience!?" someone yelled. 

"Yes?" she answered. The voice sounded like Serenity's, but it couldn't be. Rin had to have been the one that called her . . . But still . . . 

Serenity froze. That was Patience! She would know that voice anywhere - and she sounded close.

Good. She could grab Patience and they could get out of this cursed forest . . . Her ankle was hurting again, probably from walking so much . . . She just wanted to get back to Kaede's village. Maybe she and Patience could think of a way to get themselves home together . . . 

"Patience! Is that you!?"

"Serenity!!!" 

Patience had leapt out of the water and run towards the voice without thinking first. It wasn't until Rin looked at her funny that she remembered her clothes were drying on a rock and she scrambled back into the water. 

_Shit, _she thought, _this really sucks. My clothes won't be dry for awhile._

Serenity followed the voice through the tree cover and brush to a wide, circular clearing. There was a stream running through it, filling the silence with a quiet babbling, and as soon as she stepped out of the forest and onto the grass it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of her - but she didn't cared about any of it at the moment, because besides a strange little girl, Patience was there too, apparently unharmed, and that was all that mattered. 

She blinked as she looked at her cousin again. Ookay, so Patience was . . . naked. Uh . . . whatever.

She limped over to her as fast as she could, relief sweeping over her like a flood, washing away all thoughts of the forest, Kaede, Inuyusha, and the Sengoku Jedai. She was just glad to see Patience wasn't hurt.

"Patience! Thank God you're all right . . ." She frowned suddenly, her eyes narrowing. "Why didn't you go for help like you said you were going to?"

"You're limping. Why are you standing up!?"

"Oh, never mind that," Serenity said, waving it away with an impatient gesture as if it didn't matter. Everything had just come crashing down on her again now that she was absolutely sure Patience wasn't in any danger. "Do you know _where _we are!? Or should I say, _when_?"

"What in the Hell are you talking about _when_?'" Patience demanded. " I know we're not in Tokyo, but what do you mean _when_?!?'"

Serenity sighed. "Jeez," she muttered. "I mean it exactly like it sounds. We're in the Sengoku Jedai!!!"

"What?!? How hard did you hit your head in that well?"

Okay, so her cousin was going nuts . . . Patience could deal with that . . .

"It's the Warring States Era, Patience, as in 1477 to 1576 A.D.!!! Have you _seen _some of the freaks running around here!? I saw this one little boy - he was really cute and everything, but he had a freakin' tail! There was also this other guy . . . he . . . EARS! Come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed anything strange about this place!"

"Strange . . . YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT STRANGE!!!??? Oh, just . . . little Rin . . . A guy with gorgeous silvery-white hair and a blue crescent moon on his forehead AND IT'S NOT A FREAKIN' TATTOO!!! OH, AND TO TOP IT OFF A FREAKY LITTLE TOAD GUY WHO I SMASHED INTO A TREE THIS MORNING!!!"

Rin sat between the two, just watching. This was becoming quite entertaining.

Serenity stared blankly at her cousin for a second, then came to herself. "Oh yeah?" she said. "Well, guess where I woke up last night!!! In some hut . . . It belongs to the village priestess. A PRIESTESS!!! And the hut . . . it looks exactly like something from the Sengoku period . . . and the old woman . . . she was even _dressed _like a priestess! You should have seen it, Patience. It's too real to be fake. Oh, and the HANYOU! STUPID CREEP! He wouldn't help me find you . . . He was the one who carried me to the village after you went off and . . . and . . ."

She stopped, a half-smile on her face. "And did you know that you're naked?"

Patience rolled her eyes. "No, I never noticed that I don't have any clothes on." Man, Serenity could be so dense. "My clothes are over on that rock drying. I was just taking a bath or what can be called a bath since I don't have any soap." Patience looked down and saw Rin. The girl had been watching them the entire time. "Oh, and this is Rin."

Serenity took real notice of the girl for the first time. She smiled warmly. "Hello!" she said brightly.

Rin smiled at her, but stood as close to Patience as she could get.

"It's okay," Patience said, "she's a good person." _Generally speaking, _she thought to herself. Rin took a few steps away from the water's edge, but still wouldn't go too close to Serenity.

"Aren't you adorable!" When the girl said nothing, Serenity raised her eye's to Patience's face and said, "Um, I hate to ask this right in front of her, but . . . can't she speak?"

"Not as far as I know, but she's an intelligent little thing," Patience answered, smiling at Rin. Patience hoped that the child could speak and she was just choosing not to for some reason.

"You need some kind of medical attention for your foot. Do you know your way back?"

Serenity chewed on her lower lip as she looked around her. "Heh . . . uh . . . No, if you want the truth. I kinda wandered here by chance. I have no idea where I am."

"Ummm . . . well, I know my way back to the God Tree, so why don't we go and find Sesshomaru? He'll know the way back to the priestess' hut." Patience wondered what Serenity would think of Sesshomaru. He could take a little getting used to, that was for certain.

Serenity shrugged. "Whatever," she said, then grinned, "but you might want to get some clothes on first. Unless you _want_ this Sessho-maru to see you naked or something."

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

_Well, _thought Patience, _that might finally get a rise out of him. _

"Funny," she said in reply. "My clothes should be dry by now."

Patience walked over to her clothes and, sure enough, they were dry. Patience dressed and shook out her wet hair. "Let's go then." Patience linked arms with Serenity to help her walk, leaving Rin to trail behind, which she didn't mind, and they began to slowly make their way toward the God Tree. __

"So, how's your cut doin'," asked Serenity, looked at Patience with concern as she limped along.

"What cut? Oh, _that_ one."Patience's hand slid up to her cheek unconsciously. She winced. "Fine."

"Uh huh. Riiight." Serenity shook her head, sighing. She knew Patience wouldn't admit she was really in pain, so she decided not to push it. "So," she said instead, "tell me more about this Sessho-maru."

"Oh boy . . . You really wanna know? Well, umm . . . He's a full-blooded inu youkai. He has a half-brother who is a half-breed, or something like that, and he wants his sword. He has gorgeous gold eyes and . . . well . . . he's absolutely beautiful." Patience didn't know how else to explain him. __

"Beautiful, huh?"

Serenity had to keep herself from breaking down into laughter. She had never heard a guy being described as 'beautiful,' before. She found it extremely funny.

_Jeez, my ankle hurts . . . _

"Hey, there he is!" Patience smiled as they came upon him. He was staring at the God Tree with his back to them. Yup, that was Sesshomaru - absolutely beautiful.

Serenity studied the guy's . . . well . . . back for awhile. Patience was certainly right about one thing, he did have beautiful hair, so long, straight, and silver; a lot like Inuyasha's, except not as thick or wild.

Sesshomaru turned around. He was happy to see that Patience and Rin had gotten back safely . . . but there was another human with them. Sesshomaru became instantly defensive. What was she doing with the girls? Patience was helping her hobble to the tree; the girl appeared to have a sprained ankle.

"This is Serenity," Patience said. "My cousin . . ." What was going through his mind? The glint in his eyes made Sesshomaru look as if he were about ready to kill Serenity. "She needs to get back to Kaede's hut so that she can rest more comfortably. Will you help me take her there?" Patience was almost afraid of his answer.

Sesshomaru just silently nodded.

Serenity smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks," she mumbled. This guy was scary . . . she hadn't missed the dark look he had given her, the look that said he would kill her without a second thought if he had the chance . . . but Patience trusted him and he was helping her. "Nice to meet you, by the way."

Sesshomaru merely nodded once more, then started off; everyone else followed. 

"So, now that you've met my Sesshomaru," Patience said aside to Serenity, "tell me about this guy _you_ met."

"Ooh,_ you're _Sesshomaru, is it?"

This little fact hadn't escaped Sesshomaru's hearing. He was curious as well.

"Umm . . . yeah . . . about that guy you met . . ." Patience stuttered, something she rarely did. She wasn't quite sure how to divert Serenity's attention.

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Patience," she said, then her expression turned cold as she thought about Inuyasha. "Hmm . . . I don't know . . . He's a STUPID, INSENSITIVE JERK! Idiot . . . He wouldn't help me find you. It was that he couldn't - he just wouldn't. He wasn't polite about it, either. He's rude, obnoxious, temperamental . . .

"I hate that hanyou . . . even if he does have cute doggie ears . . ." She sighed.

Sesshomaru glanced at this . . . Serenity. She knew his good -for -nothing half-brother. If she had seen him at Kaede's hut then he would probably still be somewhere around there. This could be his chance to finally get the Tetsusaiga. He had to take Serenity to Kaede's.

Patience looked at Sesshomaru. His face as usual, a brick, but in his eyes was a cold malice she hadn't yet seen. He was up to something.

"So . . . anything else?" Patience asked.

"I . . ." Serenity stopped and sighed. "I don't know. I really don't know. He seems so angry, but . . ."

She stopped again, silently adding, _But he has such a gentle face. How can he possibly be that bad?_

Patience saw distress run over her cousin's face and wondered what it was all about. Well, all would be revealed in due time . . . or, at least, she hoped it would. __

  
  
  


a/n: Serenity here! All hail the mighty bucket! *waves a shovel in Patience's face while throwing dodge balls at her head with her free hand*Ahhh this is sooo relaxing and fun, but I suppose I must take time out from my amusement to do this, once again: INUYASHA AND KAGOME ARE PERFECT TOGETHER!!! The authors of this little ficie know this and do not need flamers to remind them of that fact. But, if you read it and liked it, please leave us a little review. Our fairy peoples will grant you one wish if you do. : )__

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